NFL: Picking Playoff Winners

The NFL Playoffs are officially here, and so far our first set of picks for this weekend's Wildcard round. As was expected, there are two nice matchups in the AFC side and two dismal coin flips on the NFC side. All season long, the NFL has been a virtual crapshoot and the first round of the playoffs should be no different. With that said, here are our rolls of the dice.

Kansas City Chiefs at Indianapolis Colts

Dustin Hockensmith: The Colts win by putting points on the board and making opposing offenses impatient and more prone to abandon the run. If Larry Johnson and the Chiefs don't get out of the gates early, Trent Green can't possibly lead a comeback through the air. The Colts are 8-0 at home this season and stay perfect on Saturday. Colts 24, Chiefs 13.

Steve Cernak: I'm skeptical picking the Chiefs because they are 3-5 on the road and the Colts are 8-0 at home. However, the Jaguars and Bengals both showed the league how to pick apart Indy's pathetic run defense. Larry Johnson will run wild and KC's great corner tandem of Patrick Surtain and Ty Law slows Peyton Manning. Chiefs 30, Colts 17.

Dallas Cowboys at Seattle Seahawks

DH: Both teams enter the playoffs with losses in three of their last four games, which makes it hard to gauge what they will do with clean slates. The matchup between an 'overconfident' Tony Romo and the Seahawks depleted secondary plays too big a part in this game, and I think the Cowboys win it ugly on the road. Cowboys 21, Seahawks 20.

SC: I don't like either team. So Bill Parcells is a better coach than Mike Holmgren, but that's the only advantage I'll give the 'Boys. Shaun Alexander I heard is pretty good. Seattle's receivers are good, but Matt Hasselback will be throwing to playoff proven Deion Branch.

What interests me more than the game is whether or not Parcells chokes the life from Terrell Owens. Seahawks 27, Cowboys 20.

New York Jets at New England Patriots

DH: This is the must-see game of the weekend. These two teams play the same brand of football under two coaches from the same school of thought. The Jets are a nice story under Bill Belichick disciple Eric Mangini, but I just don't see them winning in Foxboro. Tom Brady leads a touchdown drive in the final five minutes, and the Pats come back to win. Patriots 20, Jets 16.

SC: Who picks against the Patriots, Tom Brady and Bill Belichick in January? Me. I never claimed to be smart. Belichick versus Eric Mangini pervaded the headlines, with Belichicks allegedly despising his former protégé. Could this be a distraction of epic proportions?

The Jets are a good team and Chad Pennington was the feel-good story of 2006. No one believed the weak-throwing quarterback would bounce back after his throwing shoulder exploded. He fought through can't after can't and this would make for one hell of an icing. The Jets' superior receivers put Pennington on the NY tabloid backpages and makes Mangini look genius. Jets 24, New England 21 (with the Pats missing Adam Vinatieri)

New York Giants at Philadelphia Eagles
DH: So much turmoil for the Giants, and here they are in the playoffs. They play the Eagles in Philadelphia for the second time this season with a new sense of hope and a second chance for their season. Tiki Barber and Brandon Jacobs run wild, and Jeff Garcia's emotions get the best of him. Giants 28, Eagles 21.

SC: The Giants are my team. I follow them closely. They looked like Super Bowl contenders the first half of the season but the second half… Tom Coughlin is a joke. Peyton Manning did a great job teaching his younger brother Eli how to completely miss expectations. Trust me, I could go on forever. Even though the Eagles stink too: Eagles 107, Giants -3.

NFL: Back to the Future - Vince Young to Randall Cunningham

By Dustin Hockensmith

Look at Tennessee Titans quarterback Vince Young next to former Philadelphia Eagles great Randall Cunningham, and just one glance should reveal their similarities. Both are 6-foot-4 or better and stand that way in the pocket, but they can also tuck it and run with the best of them in any instance of a breakdown. The difference between the two is mental, and you'll watch in the not-so-distant future as Young and the Titans (or whoever else) succeed in the playoffs where Cunningham and the Eagles (and Vikings) failed.

There's obviously no mistaking just how talented Young is on the exterior, but what he has shown over the Titans' surprising three-game win streak is the inner toughness of a champion. Not that it should come as a shock, Young single-handedly carried his underdog Texas Longhorns to a win in the 2006 national championship game.

Young's heroics have continued as a pro quarterback, which is arguably the hardest position to learn in all of sports. A little erratic as a passer thus far, Young has thrown five touchdown passes and two interceptions over the last three Titan wins. If he keeps minimizing his mistakes through the air and making timely runs, there's no telling how successful he can be.

Cunningham had similar accuracy troubles as a young QB, but grew and put up big numbers his entire career. He had his best season as a pro in 1988 when he finished second in the NFL with 30 passing TD's and ninth with 942 rushing yards. Cunningham was a Pro Bowler that season and took his team to the playoffs for three straight years (1988-90), but he threw zero touchdown passes and five interceptions in three straight Eagles losses.

I simply have a hard time believing that a Young-led team would whimper like that and get dominated in the playoffs.

Of course there's still projection and you can never account for the kinds of injuries Cunningham suffered, but you get the sense now that Young is destined for a brighter future. Considering he's beaten both Manning brothers in back-to-back weeks, the future might just be now.